Oil Painting#2 (Washing)

My Roses in Rain

For Mom#3

For Mom#2

Luke's Photo for Mom

Big Rose

Oil Painting#1

Before Last

끝없는 응시로 눈이 아프고, 눈물이 돌며, 눈이 침침해지는 댓가(?)를 치르며 이곳까지 빛과 어두움을 발견했다. 사물들의 관계를 파악해서 형상을 잡고, 빛을 잡기 위해 어두움을 함께 인식하기 위해 나의 눈은 바빴다. 하지만 그것은 스텝바이스텝으로 천천히 이루어져야 한다. 난 초보니깐.

대략 그 형상과 빛 방향이 잡힐 때, 난 포그라운드에 몰입했다. 왜냐면, 포그라운드가 우리 눈에 가장 가까이 있으며, 그림의 깊이를 표현하기 위해서 가장 중요하기도 하고, 좀 더 디테일한 명도를 표현하며, 좀더 강한 어두움과 빛을 표현해야 하기 때문이다.

그동안 드로잉 기초 수업에서 라인과 명도 테크닉을 그야말로 대충 이해하였다. 이번 페인팅 크라스는 그동안의 의문의 대답을 찾을 수 있어서 참으로 뜻깊은 시간이 되고 있다. 오일 페인팅은 내 인생 처음으로 경험해 보는 것으로, 내 심장은 바쁘게 뛰고 있다.

숲을 보면 나무를 보지 못하고 가까이에 있는 나무들에 집착하면 숲을 보지 못하는 실수를 매번 반복하고 있지만, 포그라운드의 발견은 내게 뜻깊다. 붓을 놓고 사진을 찍어 본 다음 난 발견하였다. 도자기의 곡선이 좌우가 맞지 않다는 것을! 그래서 토요일 오전 네시간 동안 수정을 하였다. 여기서 내가 깨달은 것은 절대 서두르지 말아야 한다는 것이다. 명도가 들어가기 전 형태를 바르게 잡았더라면, 그렇게 힘들게 수정할 필요가 없었을 것이다.

형태를 되잡는 순간 그 주변이 모두 엉망이 되어 버렸다. 주변 명도를 맞추고, 발생되는 상황정리를 네시간 하고 그려놓은 그림을 아직 사진으로 옮기지 못한 것은 유감이다. 아마도 크리티크 하는 날 사진으로 담아야 할 것 같다. 기다리시라!

Figure Drawing#2

Figure Drawing#1

Volume#3

Volume#2

Volume#1 in Cup-Project2

I am very Happy

Congratulations! On behalf of the office of International Students &
Scholars, it is my pleasure to inform you that you are the recipient of a
Fall 2007 undergraduate tuition award in the amount of xxxx The only
stipulation of the award is that you remain in at least 12 credit hours
throughout the semester. Dropping below 12 hours will result in your award
being removed completely.

Also, as a recipient of this tuition waiver award from SIUC, you must
understand that the University has the legal authority to release your name
and address, the name of your former high school or college, the name of
the award, and the award amount. Refusal to accept this release of
information agreement will result in a forfeit of the waiver.

Sincerely,
Carla Coppi
Interim Director

.........
더 이상 기쁠 수가 없다. 애애애애!
포기하고 있었는디...학교성적 좋으면 뭐하냐며 그냥 편하게 지낼까도 하는 마음이 섭섭한 마음에 품기도 하였는데... 9월 초에 멜로 불가 여부를 알려준다고 하였고, 그 날짜가 지나 포기하고 있었다. 물론 난 그림을 좋아하고 예술을 사랑한다. 눈이 튀어나올 정도로 몇시간이나 그림을 그리고 못생긴 도자기를 다듬고 해가 저문 시간에 집으로 와 잔디를 작은 아들과 함께 씩씩하게 깍았다. 으랴차차! 으랴차차!

금요일밤이라 나도 쉬고 싶다. 쉬기전에, 아니 쇼파에 오랜만에 엉덩이를 걸치고 텔비를 보기전에 멜을 체크하는 동안 난 내 눈을 의심했다. 이것이 뭣이단가!

한국같았으면 성적순으로 전장학금을 받았겠지만, 인터네셔날 학생들 납부금으로 학교 운영을 하는 마당에 장학금을 공부만 하는 인터네셔날 학생들에게 주면 손해보는 장사라, 조금씩 나누어 준다더니...역시나....그래도 어디인가!

과연, 내가 장학금으로 좋은 망원렌즈가 달린 카메라를 살 수 있을까?

어쨌든, 난 지금 넘 기쁘고 행복하다.

Simplify Your Life...Art History Essay #1

Simplify Your Life

This representive painting of Ming Dynasty, “Poet on a Mountaintop” is a ‘Literati Painting’ which has poetry, calligraphy, and painting. Especially, this painting shows the simple line drawing, coloring and composition that were given by his noble philosophy. But this simplicity is not a slight knowledge, it come form his deep thoughts in his life. He ignores detail works in his painting by his strong message that was occurred on the top of mountain.

On the top of mountain, the world around our lives seems to be simple. The height of mountain gives us simple world in a natural mind. What is a life? The painter, Shen Zhou who didn’t need worry about money, he did read books and exercising calligraphy and making poetry, this all kinds of activity made literati painting. The literacy and painting are effectively laid on paper together by artist’s philosophical message. I want to say three aspects of painting in terms of composition, color and line. How could they work together in simple style for artist’s self expression.

First, in terms of composition, this painting has a huge negative space to express the distance from the human world. These negative spaces are filled with white clouds and high sky as an isolated area from a mundane world.

The main subjects on painting absolutely are composed of the sky, the earth (mountain), and human. Those subjects are main concept to understand the universal in China traditional Culture. Especially this painting shows the philosophy of naturalism. They think that the human being is harmonically a very small part of nature. Human figure was shown dwarfed. So, generally they do not draw the man big and detail in traditional painting. This philosophy is distinguishable comparing to western philosophy that the man is a conquer in nature. As a part of nature, the man’s figure is extremely simple and small.

In foreground, we can see the ever green pine trees that show intentionally the painter’s expression. Shen Zhou touched the trees with a strong black in his painting. The strength of pine trees caught the balance not only between foreground and back ground but also right space and left. The negative space is left area where the sky and clouds that is lighter than the earth area, so he used more touched with soft water than trees and rocks touched strong.

He wrote again poetry that shows his strong message the top negative area. Maybe it is very difficult to understand intention without interpretation his poetry in his painting. The poetry and the painting are strong related to his message with his own simple style. He was a wise scholar who was raised by education, trained by practicing calligraphy and painting at same time. It is difficult to understand this painting without his intensive poetry because the poetry is one of important factors in literati painting.

His message was shown on the top of the mountain like his title of painting. On the top of mountain, it looks too small to see the mundane world. The man who has only one stick on the mountain in this painting is just leaning one stick, he just sees the wide sky and white clouds around him. He wanted to be one man who should be in natural instead of having something. The big simple negative space is great to show the height of mountain that shows the greatness of nature as well as distance of a mundane and political world.

Second, this painting is just monochrome black and white color by ink. Like western traditional drawing skill, more time, more see, and the black is simple but evolves various deep colors. These monotonous collars with black and white were enhanced by painter’s intention. It is very great to be shown by black and white for painter’s massage without coloring. Maybe it is easier to see the volume of the nature without detail coloring.

If the painter used the color painting, the isolated white man looked so strange for his message. The painter creates his figure in white. That is also interesting factor to understand this painting. It is easy to see the man in white which shows the spiritual expression instead of colorful luxury clothes. The high noble natural man was expressed in white with bramble staff in painting would be a tradition style in future.

By color theory, the white color stands for “the purity”. He mentioned white clouds in poetry and depicted painting. Furthermore, he is in white instead of luxury colorful clothes.
We can see the pine trees strong black touched, and the back ground color is getting lighter in order to show the depth. He knew ‘the air perspective’ in painting. According to his perspective, he roughly touched foreground, this strong and rough touching are very effective to show his philosophy simplified.

Third, his painting lines shows mostly natural lines except the house which man made. The lines variously touched make the value, further more, and make distance. He expressed the subjects with deep observations, but they were shown with simplicity. He gave the powerful lines in expressing rocks rock with rough and simple strategy. And he tried to express the soft space such as clouds and sky and the line of far mountain by very soft light line in this painting. The extremely simple line drawings were well expressed in harmony on a mountaintop.

This literati painting that has poetry, calligraphy and painting is an expression of idea in high noble class in traditional China painting. The literature and Painting showed the artist’s philosophy to communicate with people. Ironically, the one man on the top showed the isolation from the mundane world. The style of this painting is simplicity in color, line and composition by his simple and noble philosophy on the top of mountain. The painting says that you live life in a simple style as a natural man.


Reference: Shen Zhou, Poet on a Mountaintop, c. 1500 (Sokstad 3 ed., p. 842/2 ed., p. 812)

Oil Paniting Process#2

Gesture Drawing 60

Rib Cage

Cylender Practice----photo by Ben Kim

Ben's Capture2

Number 56

Ben's Marching

Washing Process